To Glove or not to Glove?

[beamer]

I was looking through some of our sponsors sites and have run across some gloves. Do most people use gloves? Which gloves do most people tend to buy? I've seen the orange and blue ones , and boxes of 100's of clear ones that come up to your shoulder.

Are these thick enough to protect from bristle worms or whatever?

Which do you like and why?

Thanks, Cindy

[bertoni]

I use some arm-length gloves that I got from labsafety.com. I think any arm-length should be okay for most uses. The thinner ones are a little less protective, but allow finer manipulations underwater.

[SoKaL ReeFiN]

I don't use any gloves and just dive on in.

[beamer]

Thanks everyone,

Do you feel that the shoulder length orange and blue ones would be to thick to work with? I've only seen pictures of these and have never tried any.

As far as diving in that's what I've been doing but they say the gloves help to protect the corals. Also I was hoping they might help against the bristle worms. The guy that set up my tank wound up with several finger fulls of the little thorns. Ouch!! I would like to avoid that.

Cindy

[bertoni]

I sometimes go barehanded for detail work, but the gloves do help keep stuff out of the tank (and the fingers). I haven't tried the gloves you mentioned, so I can't give an opinion there.

[Dmoney]

check these out at marinedepot

http://marinedepot.com/aquarium_miscellaneous_gloves.asp?CartId=

[Sir Knight]

I believe you should always wear gloves when you work in your tank not only to protect your tank but also to protect yourself

[Bobo2020]

I headr the blue and orange ones leak at the seams...but that is heresay, I don't actually own those

[gcvt]

I never stick a hand in without a glove. I use those long blue and orange ones (even though they leak) and some regular smaller gloves from the grocery store.

[MNgirl]

I have heard that the orange and blue ones can leak because they have seams....and that the clear ones do not leak because they do not have seams. I use clear ones and they work great....they are not bulky and I feel a tad bit safer inside the tank;)

[Obi-dad]

I have been using the orange and blue gloves once a week for a year, no leaks. But they are very thick, so great for being protected and handling large/heavy/sharp objects, not so great for handling small or fragile objects like frags.

[loyalty]

if it keeps me from getting fried from a faulty powerhead, i'm all over that

[Jim in santa barbara]

one of the best reasons to wear thick, long gloves

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/sp/feature/index.htm

[nanocat]

There are a lot of valid reasons to wear gloves. That said, I know maybe 30 reefers or so, and I don't know any of them who wear gloves every time their hand goes in the tank. The only guy I know who actually does use gloves pretty regularly, is a guy that frags corals every day and got some nerve damage from the frequency of handling them.

Personally, my gloves are where a lot of reefer's gloves are...
In a drawer. :D

[bronco1500]

When my gloves leak I just use superglue on em works great. Only had to do it twice in a year and a half

[Steven Pro]

I have used those thin gloves. They have very nice feel through them, but are so thin they tear easily and you end up getting wet anyway. The Coralife orange and blue ones are not too bad. They don't have quite the feel as the polygloves, but I don't find them that difficult to work with. Although, every pair I have had has eventually leaked at the seams. I have gone through about a half dozen sets so far. I just recently got a pair of those Lab Safety gloves and I really like them a lot. They fit nice, are not too thick, and I doubt they will ever leak. They are just a bit too short for really deep tanks, though.

[beamer]

Thanks guys, I'll also check out the others. Since my tank is already set up it sounds like maybe all I need are the thinner ones for cleaning and moving smaller things around. Are those the same gloves that veterinarians use on cows or horses?

Gloves that leak? Doesn't make much sense to me. For that price it seems like they could do a little better than that.

StevenPro, what would you call a really deep tank? Mine is only 2ft. I assume I would be just fine .

Jim in Santa Barbra, thanks for the site. I guess I will be ordering some gloves today! That all sounded pretty scarry, and I always have some kind of little cut or skin break on my fingers .Which gloves do you use? The thinner ones or the orange ones that leak?

Thanks Dmoney for the site.

Of the thinner gloves which brand do you guy buy and from where?

Thanks everyone, Cindy

[Steven Pro]

Are those the same gloves that veterinarians use on cows or horses?

Yes

StevenPro, what would you call a really deep tank? Mine is only 2ft. I assume I would be just fine .

The Lab Safety gloves are 24" long, so even with a two foot deep tank you have to be careful you don't splash water up and over into the glove when reaching to the bottom of the aquarium.

That all sounded pretty scarry, and I always have some kind of little cut or skin break on my fingers

I am glad you liked my article and that since you are now aware of the risks you are taking precautions. That was exactly why I wrote the piece.

[Mr.Lloyd]

I use latex gloves to protect the corals I am handling.I do not worry about me and with a 30" deep tank I am going to get wet some.

[buiryn]

I use the orange and blue gloves. They are thick and haven't leaked yet (knock on wood).

They are really good for moving rocks around, but like others have said, not good for detailed work like placing frags or uprighting snails.

[beamer]

Hi StevenPro, where do you purchase Lab Safety gloves?

Those orange and blue gloves I think only come in one size. I assume that they are probably large on most women and then it really would be difficult to handle things. Do the Lab Safety gloves come in more than one size? I will probably need to be moving a few corals around.

Anyone who hasn't read your article definately needs to. It was a real eye opener and I had no idea. I'm printing out a copy for my husband to read. He thought it was silly when I mentioned that I wanted to get some gloves.

Cindy

[bertoni]

labsafety.com sells probably hundreds of types of gloves.

[Steven Pro]

These are the ones I bought http://www.labsafety.com/store/product_group.asp?dept_id=12541&cat_prefix=4WA

[beamer]

Thanks for the site StevenPro. Do you find that those gloves allow you enough flexibility to handle frags or for those do you use a glove a little thinner? I guess it wouldn't hurt to have both kinds around then whatever situation comes up you are always prepared.

Cindy

[Steven Pro]

I can do anything I want to with those gloves on although, I should say the Coralife ones never really bothered me all that much either. The Lab Safety gloves definitely have a better fit than Coralife's.

[crimson156]

click to get a few good reasons on wearing gloves
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1285&highlight=emergency

[beamer]

Thanks StevenPro, I believe I will be buying the same ones that you have. According to their site you can also get them in different sizes and I take it that these don't leak like the others. Right now I'm just using some gloves from the dollar store. Once I use those up I'll be getting the others.

Thanks for the reply, Cindy

[beamer]

Crimson156 thanks for the link, it gave some good info.

Cindy

[crimson156]

i wanted suff like that link to be made into a sticky
but it just never happened
i don't think people realize what can go wrong when they expose themselves to their reef tanks

[Mr.Lloyd]

I just added 4 frags from Reefer Madness and used the latex.I throw them away after use .A box of 100 is maybe $8.I rinse off my arm after reaching deep.Anyway the frags do not have my hands touching them.

[beamer]

Crimson156, what is a stickie? Is it just some of the general stuff at the top of the forum that they leave there all of the time for all of the new people to see.

Cindy

[beamer]

I get a package of 10 latex gloves from the dollar store and then I also scrubb up. I'd like to go ahead and get the longer pair though so I don't have to scrub up before I get in the tank (without soap of course--just real hot water). And maybe they wouldn't make as big of a mess and wouldn't dry my skin out so much.

Cindy

[crimson156]

ya it stays stuck at the top

my mom moved one of my corals(a plate coral) w/out a pair of gloves(i told her not to stick her hands in my tank w/out them) and it made her fingers numb for a couple hours

[rockster]

the orange and blue are great for general work.. but not to postion rock and corals they are crazy..

so, we use both, the O/B for major work, the latex for all for almost everything else.

[Trekkie]

Originally posted by Bobo2020
I headr the blue and orange ones leak at the seams...but that is heresay, I don't actually own those

I have them. The only time they leak is when you go in deeper than the glove and it's not sealed onto your arm, but your shirt ;)

[gkmartinez]

I use the simple latex gloves that you use to wash your dishes.